king the flies from their discoloured meat. "Buy! buy!
buy!" they all shouted together. A dense throng of the poor passed
between them in torn jellabs and soiled turbans, and haggled and bought.
Asses and mules crushed through amid shouts of "Arrah!" "Arrah!" and
"Balak!" "Ba-lak!" It was a lively scene, with more than enough of
bustle and swearing and vociferation.

There was more than enough of lying and cheating also, both practised
with subtle and half-conscious humour. Inside a booth for the sale of
sugar in loaf and sack a man sat fingering a rosary and mumbling prayers
for penance. "God forgive me," he muttered, "_God forgive me, God
forgive me,_" and at every repetition he passed a bead. A customer
approached, touched a sugar loaf and asked, "How much?" The merchant
continued his prayers and did his business at a breath. "(_God forgive
me_) How much? (_God forgive me_) Four pesetas (_God forgive me_)," and
round went the restless rosary. "Too much," said the buyer; "I'll give
three." The merchant went on with his prayers, and answered, "(_God
forgive me_) Couldn't take it for as much as you might put in your tooth
(_God forgive me_); gave four myself (_God forgive me_)." "Then I'll
leave it, old sweet-tooth," said the buyer, as he moved away. "Here!
take it for nothing (_God forgive me_)," cried the merchant after the
retreating figure. "(_God forgive me_) I'm giving it away (_God forgive
me_); I'll starve, but no matter (_God forgive me_), you are my brother
(_God forgive me, God forgive me, God forgive me_)."

Israel bought the bread and the meat, the raisins and the figs which the
prisoners needed--enough for the present and for many days to come. Then
he hired six mules with burdas to bear the food to Shawan, and a man two
days to lead them. Also he hired mules for himself and Ali, for he knew
full well that, unless with his own eyes he saw the followers of Absalam
receive what he had bought, no chance was there, in these days of
famine, that it would ever reach them. And, all being ready for his
short journey, he set out in the middle of the day, when the sun was
highest, hoping that the town would then be at rest, and thinking to
escape observation.

His expectation was so far justified that the market-place, when he came
to it again, with his little caravan going before him, was silent and
deserted. But, coming into the walled lane to the Bab Toot, the gate
at which the Shawan road enters, he encountere